Radiation neurobiology of long-term spaceflights

Abstract

Radiation neurobiology is an interdisciplinary field of science studying the effect of radiation on the nervous system at different levels of its organization (biochemical, molecular, cellular, and system), including higher integrative brain activity, influence on health, and efficiency of protection measures against ionizing radiation. A review of studies on the influence of cosmic irradiation on cells and tissues of the central nervous system with the use of photons, X-ray and γ-ray radiation, as well as heavy ions in doses of less than 2 Gy obtained in modern accelerators, is presented. Useful information is given on the higher doses of radiation at which earlier, unstudied biological reactions arise. Special attention is paid to the latest research related to the use of a spectrum of particles and doses corresponding to cosmic irradiation. This review is based on the results of contemporary works of foreign authors that are little known in our country.